Peter Attia exits CBS News contributor role after Epstein links surface

peter attia is stepping down as a contributor to CBS News amid scrutiny of his email exchanges with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move that followed Justice Department files released earlier this month.

Peter Attia steps aside from the newly created role

Attia told CBS he would resign from the position effective immediately, and the network’s booking department informed CBS News staff Monday., a spokesman for Attia said the contributor role "was newly established and had not yet meaningfully begun, " and that he "stepped back to ensure his involvement didn’t become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS. " The spokesman added that Attia "wishes the network and its leadership well" and has no further comment.

Emails in the Justice Department file library

Attia’s name appears frequently in a cache of Epstein files released by the Justice Department earlier this month. The messages, many from the 2010s, show the two men trading jokes, arranging times to meet and chatting about Epstein’s health. One email exchange from 2016 included a crude remark that female genitalia was "low carb. " Attia has not been accused of any crimes.

What Attia has said publicly

On Feb. 2, Attia posted a lengthy message on X insisting his "interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone. " He wrote, "I was not involved in any criminal activity, " and added that he was "never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties. " He apologized for putting himself in a position where emails "some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, " and said he accepts the humiliation that comes with it.

Database entries and internal pushback

A database search of the Justice Department’s file library returned 1, 838 results linked to Attia’s name; some messages involved medical discussions, others crude remarks. Attia was one of 19 contributors recruited in January by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, a group that also included historian Niall Ferguson and wellness influencer Andrew Huberman. The revelations prompted criticism outside the network, and HBO’s John Oliver publicly lambasted CBS for retaining Attia after the files surfaced; some staffers had urged the network to drop him.

Corporate moves and the immediate aftermath

After the emails were published, Attia stepped down as chief science officer at a snack bar company he had invested in. His spokesman’s note that the CBS role had not yet meaningfully begun was paired with the decision to resign "effective immediately, " and the booking department’s notification to staff came on Monday. Attia has no further comment, and CBS has not announced any changes to its contributor lineup.

For now, the resignation is the confirmed next step: Attia has left the contributor role, and the network was notified of that decision Monday.